Shadow Boy
by AlfabetSoop
Summary: ..one shadow boy, and one light...Jace had never known about Jonathan, but what had the other boy known about him? His complementary part, his opposite? Had he hated the thought of him? Yearned to meet him?" -CoG
1. Chapter 1

**_*COG spoilers* This is the story of Jonathan Morgenstern (aka Sebastian) from his life with Valentine up to where City of Glass Ended._**

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Chapter 1:

The sunlight began to die and he could barely see the rabbit in front of him. It sat the ledge of the cliff, eating in a patch of clover; completely unaware of the boy's presence. The boy could only see its outline, but he could still kill it. He had been trying to catch it for days, at first as a curiosity to see how it felt to actually kill something; to see the difference between life and death. But after its countless escapes, his prey was now a challenge.

His father would soon be home, after five days of leaving the boy completely alone. And when he did, the boy hoped, he would show his father what he had killed. He hoped that his father would look upon him with pride, instead of a gloomy and tiresome look.

He slowly pulled an arrow from his quiver, trying to remain invisible to the rabbit, who continued to nibble on a patch of clovers. The boy raised the bow slowly from his side and placed the arrow in position. His dark fathomless eyes stared mercilessly at the rabbit as he moved for a better shot.

A high pitched scream echoed through the woods, causing the rabbit to bolt out of the boy's range and into thorny raspberry bush.

The boy threw down his bow and arrow down and cursed. He knew a lot more cuss words than any six year old should; he knew a lot more than any six year old should.

He was different, as his father put it. He was smarter, more athletic, and courageous than any child near his age.

The boy stormed over to the ledge where the rabbit had recently been and looked down.

Below in the distance was the Wayland Manor-or at least, that's what his father's map had said. He could barely see a small boy running around, being chased by maid shouting to come in for bath time. The child, shrieked and giggled, but finally gave in as the young maid scooped him up into her arms and hauled him back in the house.

_Stupid bo_y, he thought as he turned his back away from the scene.

"Jonathan!" the voice that called him was commanding. The voice wasn't looking for Jonathan; it wanted Jonathan to show himself.

Without a second thought, Jonathan picked up his bow and ran back to where his father was waiting for him.

He slowed his pace as he approached his father's cottage, not wanting to seem too eager. His father had been gone for days, leaving Jonathan alone in the empty secluded cottage they owned. His mother had died in a fire, and he had no other relatives or friends. His father had once ran the Circle, a group who vowed to eradicate demons and half breeds from the world. But this group was filled with cowards and traitors, as his father soon found out, and after being shamed and rejected, he disappeared to rebuild his life with Jonathan, his newly born son.

His father left a lot on business trips, ones he refused to tell Jonathan about, so Jonathan was used to solitude. But that didn't mean he enjoyed it, especially for five days in a row.

"I'm here," Jonathan called. His father stood at the door of the cottage, looking in the opposite direction for him.

His father turned to see him. He didn't seem as exhausted as he usually was; his black eyes seemed brighter, and he looked more his age. Many of times it seemed stress would add years to his father. He always seemed refreshed as he came back from one of his trips, but lost that air within seconds of returning home.

"Jonathan," he said with a weary smile on his face. He ruffled Jonathan's soft blond curls.

"Father," Jonathan said coolly as if it were a casual greeting. He wanted to tell his father about the rabbit, and how he had finished his French lessons for this week and was already working on the next unit. He wanted to tell him of the severe thunderstorm that came the day before that took down a tree that could've hit the cottage if it hadn't fallen in the opposite direction. But he didn't want to seem too eager; he wouldn't say anything until he was asked.

He waited for the prompt:_ 'and what have you been doing all this time Jonathan?'_, but only a cold breeze filled the silence.

"Come Jonathan, it's late," his father said instead.

Jonathan nodded and followed his father into the cottage.

Unlike most of the manors in the valley, their house wasn't rich and fancy like the other houses Jonathan would gape at as he walked aimlessly in the night. Nevertheless, the small cottage with its fated blue shudders was enough- at least when he wasn't alone.

"I'm assuming you've already eaten," his father said pulling out a witchlight from his pocket as he stepped through the front door.

"I wasn't hungry," Jonathan said, trodding at his father's heels like a puppy.

His father pulled out a seat from the kitchen table and sat down. He placed his witchlight on the table.

"What about you?" Jonathan said too quickly and eagerly than he had meant to, "I mean- I'm _sort of _hungry. I suppose I could make us-"

"No that's quite alright Jonathan; I must start packing again anyway."

His father got up with a sigh, crossing the kitchen to his room, "I came back to gather some things. Tomorrow I'm off to Italy, on an important business matter. Good night Jonathan."

He reached for the door.

"Why can't I go with you?!" Jonathan blurted out.

His father turned around in surprise, "What was that Jonathan?"

His ignorance fueled Jonathan's anger; that question had been swimming in his head for two years now, since he was 4. Prior to that, he had a nanny, Larissa, who after spending two years taking care of 'the spawn Lucifer himself hated' left without warning. His father by that time felt Jonathan could take care of himself; after all, he was no ordinary child.

"_Because _Jonathan," his father spoke with an eerie calm, "I care for the wellbeing of my son and I will not bring you along because of a childish tantrum. I cannot possibly complete my task while watching two young boys-" He stopped; his tired mind had made him slip up.

Jonathan stared at him wide-eyed, "What do you mean 'two young boys'? Who else could there be?"

His father squeezed his eyes shut and sighed heavily.

"Goodnight, Jonathan," he said sternly.

"But I deserve to know that!" Jonathan shouted. His father turned, his dark eyes began to spark with annoyance.

"Don't I?" Jonathan added a little more meekly, "You've been leaving me alone a lot lately. Is it him, this _other boy_?"

His father leaned on the door frame, "Yes. I plan to raise you both to become great warriors, so that when the time is right, we can restore the power of the Nephilim."

"So why don't you raise us together then? It would be so much easier and-"

"You have to trust my judgment. You have to understand that what I am doing is better for not only us, but _all _Shadowhunters."

His father looked Jonathan in the eye and said more softly, "However, in order to do this I need your full cooperation. Can you handle that Jonathan?"

Jonathan waited for a moment and let anger subdue.

"Yes father," he said dejectedly.

His father nodded and closed the door as he entered his room.

Jonathan's clenched fists shook, longing to smash something. He knocked over the kitchen chair his father had been sitting in and looked up at the door. He expected- or he wanted- him to open the door and scream at him. At least then his father would notice him.

Nothing happened.

Jonathan ran over to the sink and tipped over the drying rack. The few plates that were racked smashed in to innumerable pieces.

He looked over to the white, chipping door and tried to hear what his father was doing.

_Nothing_.

There were times, even when his father was home, the small cottage seemed empty.

* * *

_** I'll try to post chapter 2 as soon as I can. Please R&R!- Soop**_


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry, I forgot to put this before..._**I do not own any characters, or anything else from the Mortal Instruments Trilogy.**_

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Chapter 2:

It was midnight and Jonathan still wasn't asleep. He sat on his bed in the dark, recollecting all his memories of his father's trips. He remembered all the times his father had come home with a smile on his face. It was that _other_ boy.

Envy and jealousy turned into obsession which created an imaginary character for Jonathan to despise...

He imagined a boy with red curly hair and green eyes- just as his mother had, surely his father loved this boy because it reminded him of his wife, whom he missed so much. This boy's laugh sounded like music, and he always smiled. He never cried because he was never afraid of anything, and was always polite. And worst of all...Jonathan's father didn't wanted to train him to be a warrior...he wanted the boy to be the son he always wanted.

Soon after his dreadful imaginings, Jonathan fell into a fitful sleep. He didn't wake up until hours later when he heard his father rummaging around in the kitchen.

Jonathan got up as fast as he could and raced into the kitchen in fear that his father would leave soon.

His father who sat at the kitchen table stared at Jonathan with surprise as he breathlessly ran into the room. Jonathan leaned on the table, panting a little.

"Oh," he tried to say as casually as he could through breaths, "You're still here. I didn't want you to leave without saying goodbye."

His father raised his steaming coffee mug and carefully took a sip. He watched Jonathan with an expressionless face.

"Do you need help packing?" Jonathan asked pulling out the chair across from his father and sitting in it.

"No, thank you Jonathan, I'm quite alright." His father took another sip.

"In fact," his father placed the mug down, and stood up.

Jonathan got up and pushed in his chair too.

"I must be off now."

His father started to open the door.

"He's going with you," Jonathan said quietly. His father stopped and looked at him.

"The other boy? You're taking him along with you, aren't you?" His voice was like a thin sheet of ice; cold and fragile.

His father looked down with a small glint of guilt in his eyes, "He isn't as independent as you, I don't think he'd do well on his own."

He gave Jonathan a small nod and closed the door.

Jonathan stood where he was for a moment, staring at the door. Then he moved closer to it, but jumped back as he felt porcelain pricking his bare feet.

He looked down to see the dishes he had smashed the night before. His father left them there as if it never existed.

* * *

Jonathan spent the rest of the day in the woods, kicking everything in his path, and muttering to himself about being alone.

He brought his bow and arrow with him, hoping he could finally catch that stupid rabbit; he needed something to channel his anger through.

He came back to the cliff where he had spotted the rabbit before, and found the brown,furry creature nibbling in the same exact spot he was the day before.

Jonathan gave a wicked smile, hid behind a bush, and slowly lifted the bow up, and pulled out an arrow.

"Waaait!" He was knocked down to the ground, his bow flew out of his hand.

Someone was sitting on top of him. He looked to see a girl about his age sitting on his stomach, and trying to wrench the arrow out of his hand. Her face was hidden by a long curtain of messy,chestnut hair.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.

The girl shook her hair out of her face.

"What am _I _doing?" She shouted. She had big hazel eyes that burned brightly with anger, "_I'm_ stopping you from killing that poor rabbit!"

_Stupid girl. _Jonathan thought. He roughly shoved her off him and quickly got to his feet.

The girl glared up at him. With her baggy boyish clothes that hung off her twig like frame, her messy hair, and her angry eyes, she looked like a wild animal.

She tried to get up, but Jonathan shoved her down again. She yelped.

Jonathan grabbed his bow, and aimed at the rabbit- who surprisingly remained clueless to what was happening.

His agility was too fast for the girl, as he shot at the animal, she only had time to scream in protest.

The arrow pierced its target, who froze as if in shock.

The girl got up and ran to the rabbit, "How could you?" she shrieked, "You killed him! Are you happy now?"

Jonathan smirked, "Yes." He enjoyed upsetting the girl, it was so easy to do.

He stared back at the rabbit, as the girl rambled on.

_It should be bleeding..._ he thought.

A black liquid oozed out like molasses, and created a growing form outside of the rabbit carcass.

"...All boys are the same! You're all a bunch of idiots! You think it's fun to kill-"

"Behind you!" Jonathan shouted, but the girl wouldn't listen, she just glared at him icily.

The black form was getting bigger, and was starting to tower over the girl. It oped its dark red eyes and out of its blob-like form grew harms with razor like claws for fingers.

Jonathan roughly grabbed the girl and started to run. At first she fought back, but she must have looked behind her to see what was chasing them, because she screamed and ran with Jonathan.

She wasn't as fast as he was, so Jonathan reluctantly slowed his pace; as much as this girl annoyed him, he wasn't going to let her die.

The demon was right on their heels, and didn't seemed to tire, like the girl was.

She tripped over a rock and fell over. Jonathan ran a couple steps more before he realized what happened.

He froze ,wanting to run away, but for some reason he stayed.

The demon stood right in front of her now,barring its needle-like teeth.

Jonathan pulled an arrow from his quiver and charged the demon.

It tried to swipe at him with one of its clawed hands, but Jonathan ducked and stabbed it. The demon wailed and clawed at Jonathan again, this time raking its claws across his cheek.

Jonathan screamed, but coninued to stab the demon.

The deamon struck out and missed Jonathan again. The arrow flew away from his hand.

As Jonathan stumbled back, the demon yelped in pain and fell over on Jonathan. It froze and then disappeared into thin air.

The girl stood over him, with a bloodied arrow in her hand.

"You alright?" she asked, giving him a hand to help him up.

He glared at her with his gashed face.

She blushed, "Stupid question, sorry."

Jonathan got up on his own with a groan.

The girl went to touch the gash marks on his face, "We should find someone to fix that for you. Demon cuts can be deadly."

"I know," Jonathan said with annoyance.

" Could your parents fix it?"

Jonathan froze, and frowned, "No."

The girl took his hand, "Then come to my house."

"I'll be fine," Jonathan started walking away.

The girl followed him, "Are you new? I've never see you before."

"I've lived here all my life." Jonathan answered blandly trying to end the conversation. He began to walk faster.

"But I've never seen you in the city before, or in school," She caught up to him, " What's your name?"

He stopped and looked at her, "Jonathan."

He continued to walk away.

The girl stayed where she was.

"My name's Nady," she said loud enough for him to hear.

Jonathan kept walking, "I didn't ask!" he shouted back.

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_**I'll try to put up chapter 3 next week! Please R&R!- Soop**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer:I do not own anything from Mortal Instruments... or M&Ms.**_

* * *

Chapter 3:

He never expected to see the girl again after the rabbit incident. In the very few thoughts Jonathan gave to the girl, he imagined her sniveling back to her house crying over her hurt feelings rather than her scrapes and bruises.

Hours had past and the only change to Jonathan's surroundings was that the rain began to pound on the roof of the cottage. He was making dinner when he heard a faint knock at the door.

The knock itself was shocking; other than his father, no one really visited the house. It was even more of a shock to see who was standing at the door.

As Jonathan opened the door, he saw the girl on the doorstep. Her clothes were drenched, her hair was matted down,and she was shivering.

Her big eyes widened at the sight of him. She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again.

Jonathan gave her a disgusted and incredulous look .

"I'm lost," her voice was nervous and soft, "Can I-"

"No." Jonathan slammed the door.

He heard the girl scream in frustration and pound at the door.

_How did she find me?_ Jonathan stormed off to the library, hoping the stupid girl left already.

The library was small, too small to store all his father's books. The walls were covered with shelves, all crammed with books. On the floor there was a small pathway between stacked books to a seat by the window. The window over looked the valley, showing Lake Lyn, and the rich manors surrounding it.

He pulled out a photo album and started flipping through the pages. He had found it hidden on one of the top shelves, but it wasn't dusty like most of the other books. During the times Jonathan did see his father, he saw him looking at this book a lot.

It was his mother's album of her trips to different countries. Some of them were of her as a child, with a plain looking boy with bright blue eyes, in Paris, New York, and Rome. Most of them were of his father and her, smiling in every picture. He tried to wedge himself between the happy couple in every photo, trying to imagine a different life with a _whole_ family.

There was pounding at the window. Jonathan jumped back and looked out to see the girl glaring at him from the other side of the glass with her arms crossed.

Jonathan tried to pull down the blinds, but they were caught on something. He sighed, staring blankly at the girl.

She didn't budge, so he reluctantly opened the window for her.

The girl quickly crawled in and shut the window behind her.

Jonathan was waiting for her to snap at him, but she was shivering too much to say anything.

"Why are you here?" Jonathan asked harshly.

"I told you!" It seemed the girl's newly fueled anger kept her warm enough to stop shivering, "I got lost! You dragged me half way across the woods and now-"

Her voice softened as she looked away from him, "Now my mom's probably worried sick about me."

Jonathan remained silent for a moment. There was a flash of lightening and a booming clap of thunder.

"Well, there's nothing you can do at the moment," he said quietly, "You might as well stay until the storm passes."

The girl sighed in relief and smiled at him, "Thanks."

Jonathan winced, "It's not a gesture of kindness, if that's what you're thinking. Your pounding was giving me a headache."

The girl gave a snide smile, "Good to know."

Jonathan was too tired to retort. In the awkward silence he glared at the girl until she looked at her shoes uncomfortably.

"Is there anything I can change into?" She nodded to the small puddle her dripping clothes made on the floor.

"Just til my clothes dry off," she added.

Jonathan crossed his arms, and gave a harsh sigh, "My room's the first room on the left, look in the black bureau."

The girl nodded and started to walk into the hallway.

"And don't touch anything in my room." He kept his back to her, but from the sound of her squeaky sneakers, he knew she had turned around to face him.

"You're an _only_ child, aren't you?" her voice regained its feisty strength.

He turned around to look at her.

"Yes," he said, having no clue where she was going with this.

She rolled her eyes. "Figures," she muttered. The sound of her squeaking shoes echoed down the hallway.

* * *

While the girl got changed, Jonathan returned to the kitchen only to find the pasta he was boiling was over cooked.

It was beyond repair. Reluctantly Jonathan tossed it in the trash.

The floorboards in the hallway began to squeak.

"What's that smell?" the girl walked into the room. She wrinkled her nose.

Like her other clothes, Jonathan's were a little big on her. Her hands were hidden by the sleeves of his black sweatshirt, and the battered navy jeans hung loosely on her waist and covered her feet.

Jonathan smiled a little, she looked ridiculous.

"It _was_ pasta." he said, shutting off the stove,"It was the only edible thing we had."

"Hmm," the girl tapped her chin, and then rushed off to the refrigerator.

Jonathan frowned, shocked at the girl's boldness, "You won't find much, maybe a few spiders, and some moldy cheese."

Every so often his father would bring groceries home- how he got them Jonathan never knew, no one could know his father was alive- but it seemed he had forgotten, which wasn't too surprising for Jonathan.

The girl was now in the pantry, pulling a bag of bagels out and handing it to him as soon as he walked over.

She grabbed a jar of peanut butter and shut the door.

Jonathan looked from the peanut butter to the bagels that were about two weeks old.

"You've got to be kidding me."

The girl smiled, "There were some of those spiders you were talking about, I'm sure if you smush them-"

"Alright, fine," he grimaced.

The girl grinned wickedly.

"You're pretty gross for a girl, you know." He followed her to the kitchen table.

"I have two older brothers, and no sisters."

She placed the peanut butter on the table, and looked around the room, "Do you have any butter knives?"

Jonathan placed the bagels on the table and went to the silverware drawer.

As he rummaged through the messy drawer of mismatched silverware, Jonathan realized it was the first time in a month he ate dinner with someone else, and the first time in a long time he was with someone other than his father. Yes, he found her immensely annoying, but it was better than solitude.

He turned to look at her, she was nibbled a piece of a peanut butter bagel and frowned.

"What?"

"Too stale," she said running down the hallway.

Confused, Jonathan sat at the table and waited for her.

She came back shaking a brown bag, " I forgot I had these in my pocket."

Jonathan gave her a perplexed look.

She ripped open the bag, surprised at Jonathan's confusion, "M&Ms?"

Jonathan shrugged, "I don't eat candy, its bad for you."

She shook her head solemnly.

"Here," she sprinkled a couple of the colorful candies another peanut butter covered bagel and handed it to him.

He hesitantly took it and eyed it warily.

"Go on, eat it!" The girl's eyes gleamed.

Jonathan took a small bite, and savored the sweet taste.

The girl looked at him expectantly, "Well?"

Jonathan tried to keep a serious face, "Its ok."

He slowly took a second bite, pretending to only eat it because he was hungry.

"Fine," the girl taking a bite of her own bagel, " be that way."

They ate quietly for a while, until the packet of M&Ms were empty.

"Where are your parents?" The girl asked, looking around the dimly lit kitchen. It was getting darker outside.

"My father's away on an important business matter." Jonathan answered quickly, not wanting to continue the conversation.

"And your mom?" The girl tilted her head, her wide eyes stared at him curiously.

Jonathan looked down at his lap, "She...she's not here," and he left it at that.

"Oh," was all she said. There was a minute of silence.

"My dad, isn't here either," the girl said quietly, "I used to live at the Institute in Boston. My dad was killed by a greater demon when I was three, so my mom decided to move back with her parents in Idris. "

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jonathan didn't exactly know what to say.

He looked up, but the girl didn't seem to be too upset.

"It's ok," she aimlessly brushed the bagel crumbs into a pile on the table, "It was four years ago, I don't really remember him."

They sat quietly for a few more minutes.

She yawned, "I'm tired, where should I sleep?"

* * *

Jonathan brought out a pillow and a blue quilted blanket from the hallway closet. He walked into the living room and handed it to the girl.

"Thanks," she said setting up her spot on the couch.

"Good night," Jonathan began to walk out of the room.

There was a flash of lightening and the wind pushed against the house, trying to find its way in.

"Wait!" the girl nervously sat up.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of thunder storms," Jonathan scoffed.

She didn't say anything, but her eyes said 'yes'.

Jonathan sighed harshly, "Fine."

He took a blanket and pillow from his room and set up his bed on the couch across from the girl- what was her name again?

_...Nady._

"What's your name short for?" He asked pulling the blanket over him, but Nady was already half asleep.

"Sinead," she murmured as she dozed off, "it's Gaelic."


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry for this late chapter, I just had to adjust to the school schedule._

_I also appologize, for not thanking the wonderful reviewers : Sarah, x-Angelic-Demon-x, pixielights, and Agnes Cornel) for their encouraging reviews. Thank you guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

_Disclaimer: See past disclaimers._

* * *

Chapter 4:

It took Jonathan a while to fall asleep, unlike Nady, who nodded off within minutes of hitting the pillow. The storm- that was beginning to get worse- didn't bother her as much now that she wasn't alone.

Jonathan tried to remember when_ he_ was ever afraid. It was right after his nanny Larissa left, and he was to stay at the cottage alone for the first time. For the first few days he slept in the day and even then he'd only sleep for a few hours. After being tormented by horrid images in his mind that used the darkness as a screen he finally realized he didn't have anything to loose. His father was constantly away, his mother was dead, and there was no one else. Soon he realized that fear was irrelevant for him. It was just him in the cottage, and the feeling of emptiness that grew within him.

He had always been confronted with that emotion- or lack there of. It had been there for as long as he could remember anything. His father called it depression, and gave him capsules filled with a dark acid-like liquid. Ironically enough, the medication made the void grow, but Jonathan didn't want to disappoint his father. His father wanted him to be strong, a mental illness was the exact opposite. Jonathan even told his father that he didn't need to take the medication anymore, but his father furiously objected, saying that he needed to continue taking them.

His medication! Jonathan sat up on the couch. He had forgotten to take them! Normally he never forgot.

Nady turned over in her sleep and began muttering incoherent thoughts.

Jonathan smiled. Normally it was the emptiness that grew during the day that reminded him to take his medication. Perhaps he didn't need it today. Maybe he could just skip tonight. Anyways, he was too tired to get up.

Jonathan slumped back down on the couch and fell asleep.

* * *

Nady woke up when the first ray of sun crept through the window and touched her face. She stretched out her arms and looked across the room to Jonathan.

He was sound asleep on the couch. Jonathan moved so seldomly, for a moment Nady thought he was dead.

He was a strange from his grown-up attitude, to his bland room; it seemed he didn't know how to have fun.

'Maybe I can teach him,' she thought to herself. She would take him home with her, and maybe he could stay with her family.

_Her family._

Nady jumped off the couch and ran over to Jonathan.

"Wake up, wake up, wake uuuup!" She shook him violently.

He smacked her hand aside and opened one eye.

"What?" he hissed.

"My family's probably worried about me. I need to go home, _now_."

Jonathan looked away reluctantly. He wished he could say that about his family. He also didn't want to be left alone again.

"Can't you wait a bit longer?"

"Nooo," Nady whined, pulling the pillow from underneath his head and whacking him with it, "I need to see them _now. _ They're probably worried sick about me!"

"Are you positive about that?" Jonathan hissed through pillow hits.

She whacked him on the head more viciously.

Jonathan rolled off the couched and cried out in pain.

"Watch it," He hissed clutching his cheek.

Nady's guilt changed from guilt to curiosity in an instant, "Isn't that where the demon scratched you?"

"Yes," Jonathan grumbled as he stood up.

Nady took Jonathan's hand off his face and looked more closely at the scar.

"That healed _really_ fast."

"I've always been a fast healer," Jonathan said off-handedly.

"But it should be infected at least. My brother Logan got a cut from a demon, but it wasn't as bad as the one you had. He was really sick for a couple of weeks, mom had to find a sorcerer to heal him."

She went to touch the faint, barely visible like that ran from the corner of Jonathan's eye to the opposite end of his cheek bone.

"Are you sure you're-"

"I'm fine," Jonathan pushed her aside, "Now, where do you live?"

"By lake Lynn, near where the Lightwoods used to live."

Jonathan pictured his father's map in his head.

"That's not too far," he said, "Probably a half hour at most. If I brought you to where we saw the rabbit- _demon_- would you be able to find your way back home?"

By the look on her face it was obvious that Nady didn't want to go to where the demon was ever again.

"Sure," she said, " but you're coming too. Maybe my mom can make us pancakes! Let me just change, I'll be right back."

"But I'm only going to take you- wait!" Jonathan attempted to protest, but Nady was already down the hallway.

He sighed. So _this_ was what it was like to have a sibling.

* * *

Within ten minutes after they stepped out the door, Nady and Jonathan were right back to where they had first met.

Nady anxiously looked around, shifting her weight from one foot to the other while trying to decide which way was the easiest to go home.

"Oh, quit being so ridiculous," Jonathan grumbled, the sooner the girl left the sooner he could go home and sleep, "The demon's dead, and the chances of us meeting another demon are highly unlikely."

"It's cursed ground now, wherever demon blood is spilt, bad luck remains."

She frowned in concentration and pointed in front of her.

"_That _tree looks familiar."

Jonathan scoffed, "I thought you said you'd know your way back."

"I do," Nady strode off proudly in the direction she pointed to.

"Sort of," she muttered quietly to herself.

She continued to walk, but heard neither following footsteps, nor a snide remark.

Nady turned around to see Jonathan where she last saw him. He had his hands in his pockets and had a nonchalant look on his face.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you be then," He said with a curt nod, "Good luck."

"But you said you'd go with me," Nady pouted.

"What- when did I say that?" Jonathan scoffed.

"You were half asleep,"Nady started to walk off, "_but never mind_."

"I-I did NOT say that!" Jonathan ran and stopped in front of her, "You didn't even give me time to say anything! You dragged me here, half awake, and still with my pyjamas on!"

He dramatically gestured to his plaid sweat pants and baggy black T-shirt.

Nady almost smiled, but held it in.

"Never mind then," she put her hands in her pockets and casually continued to walk, " its fine, really, some people keep their promises, and others just can't. I understand."

Once again Jonathan blocked her path, "I never said-"

He gave a heavy sigh," Come on, let's go."

"Really?" Nady gave a hopeful smile.

"Yes,"Jonathan said harshly, "Now come on, I'm hungry."

Nady grabbed his hand and ran in the direction she thought led to home. She smiled to herself, Jonathan was easier to trick than her siblings.

* * *

Fortunately, Nady's instincts were correct, and within a half an hour they were at her house.

It was a little bigger than Jonathan's cottage, but still inferior to the mansions that sparkled across the lake. The house was a two story salt-box with white paint peeling off. The green shudders needed the same remedy as the white sides of the house, not to mention one of the shudders needed fixing.

Nady started to move around uneasily and dragged Jonathan behind a bush.

"I hope my mom's not home," she whispered, "She'll start freaking out on me before I can explain anything. Hopefully we'll see Logan first -he's my oldest brother; he can calm my mom down."

Nady slowly began to crawl out from behind the bush to one of the first floor windows. She motioned for Jonathan to follow, and he did.

She peeked into the window then ducked away.

"Wait here a second I can introduce you properly. I just have to get my mom's temper down first."

Nady went to push open the window, but Jonathan grabbed her by the elbow.

"No, wait." He began to think of what would happen. They'd ask him his last name and realize he was Valentine's son. They'd find out his father was still alive and tell the Clave. Or he could say he was orphaned...but then they would probably try to adopt him or send him to an orphanage. Either way he wouldn't win.

"Just...forget it... it's fine."

"But you can't stay in _your_ house, you don't even have food to eat!" Nady tried to grab him roughly by the arm, but Jonathan pulled away.

"Fine then, get me something that will last me for a couple of weeks- a box of cereal or something. I'll be fine, I don't eat much anyways.

"Something that will last you for a _week_," Nady negotiated, "So you will come back and see me. You _promise_ we'll see each other again- won' t you?"

Jonathan nodded in agreement, trying to keep his voice indifferent, "Promise."

Nady grinned. There was a very noticeable gap where one of her front teeth once were- especially when she smiled, but nevertheless Jonathan was beginning to find it charming.

Nady slowly pushed the window up, trying to stop its squeaking and crawled through.

"I'll be back," She whispered before she slowly closed the window a little bit.

He heard Nady's barely audible footsteps, and the creek of the door hinges as she opened up the refrigerator.

Another door opened, and heavier footsteps entered the kitchen.

Jonathan ducked under the window, leaning on the house siding so he could still hear what was happening.

The footsteps stopped.

"Nady?" The musical voice of a man stretched out the sound of her name as if it were apart of a song.

The refrigerator slammed shut, and Nady let out a gasp.

The man gave a warm chuckle, "Running away makes you hungry too, huh?"

Nady remained silent.

"Mom's going to kill you, what happened?"

" I got lost, I felt like walking farther in the woods, and then the storm came."

" Where did you stay?" The man scoffed, " Nady, look I know Toby and I ran off from home a couple of times, but we were stupid. You have no idea how worried how mom is right now. She was up half the night worrying about you, she only went to sleep about an hour ago from exhaustion."

"It was an accident!" Nady cried, "I got lost, and then I stayed over a friend's house."

"What friend?" The man's voiced sounded concerned.

"Jonathan. He's my new friend, he's around my age." Nady was talking nervously and fast.

" I stayed with him- and his dad," she added quickly, "and then they dropped me off here."

"Are they still here?" Logan's footsteps came closer towards the window.

"No!" the footsteps stopped.

"I mean- um, they left" Nady's voice was shaky.

There was a silence.

"Can't you please tell mom I'm ok? Pleeeease Logan," whined Nady, "She'll be so upset she'll scream until I'm deaf!"

Logan laughed, "Well, maybe that's just what you need, you know you shouldn't run off like that, especially without telling anyone."

There was more silence, Jonathan assumed Nady was pouting because minutes later Logan said, "Alright, I'll tell her, but only this one time ok? Now stay put."

The kitchen door creaked open and closed again.

Nady opened the fridge again, and Jonathan heard crinkling as she placed things in what he assumed to be a paper bag.

There was another creak and more footsteps entered the kitchen.

"Nade?" groaned the half-awake voice of another young man. Jonathan could only assume that this must be her other brother, Toby.

"Hi," Nady said distractedly, continuing to throw things in the paper bag.

"What are you up to now?" Toby asked.

"Feedin' ducks," she replied casually.

"Didn't you run away?" A chair scratched across the wooden floor.

Jonathan slowly got up and peeked through the window. Toby was sitting at the kitchen window with his back to the window. He was tall and slender, with messy brown curls. Jonathan assumed that he a was in his late teens .

"I got lost!" Nady exclaimed in frustration.

Toby gave something between a laugh and a scoff, " Mom's gonna kill you."

"That's why Logan's telling her," Nady dropped more things in the paper bag that was on the kitchen table.

Toby looked at the bag then at Nady, who was now climbing the counter to get things out of the high cupboards.

"Hey, Nade?"

"Yeah."

"Ducks don't eat M&M's ...or chocolate chip granola bars."

Nady slammed the cupboard and paused before she said anything.

"Really?"

Toby reached into the bag and took out a granola bar, "Yeah, really."

"Oh," she turned around to see him eating the granola bar, "Hey! Don't!"

"What's up with you?" Toby asked through a mouthful of granola.

"SINEAD MARIE MURPHY" A woman's voice bellowed from upstairs.

"It was nice knowing you," Toby abruptly got out of his seat and left the kitchen.

Nady's big eyes grew wider as she frantically grabbed the paper bag, opened the window, and shoved it at Jonathan.

"Come see me next week," she whispered hastily, "if I'm still alive I'll meet you, by the bush we were hiding by before."

There were loud footsteps coming towards the kitchen door.

"Toby where's your sister?" Nady's mother's words were like darts, sharp and deadly.

"Kitchen," Toby replied without hesitation.

Nady frantically looked from the door back to Jonathan.

"Good-bye Duckie!" She said, slamming the window, as the kitchen door opened once more.

Jonathan was tempted to stay and see what would happen, but he was still tired, he guessed it was about 7:00 right then.

At first he was hesitant, thinking that he forgot the way home. But as soon as he crawled away from the window, and entered the woods, he remembered right away.

Within a half hour he saw the gloomy cottage... and a basket of food in front of the door.

He went up to it and read the sloppy incoherent writing on the note attached to the basket:

_Food from your father. Sorry, forgot to bring it. I'll be back next week.- Blackwell_

Jonathan crinkled the note up. Blackwell, one of his dad's stupid friends.

Jonathan threw the note in the withered bushes next to his house and promised himself Nady would never know.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello! Sorry for not posting in a while !! I'm going to try to update more often to get this story moving along. I'd also like to thank those who have reviewed so far, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!-__Soop_

_Disclaimer:Same old, same old._

* * *

To Jonathan's delight, Nady _was_ alive, and better yet, she came a couple days after Jonathan last saw her.

She visited as often as she could although at first he would go days without seeing her- her mother was still upset about Nady 'running away'. His vow to keep the food his father supplied a secret to Nady failed within a week.

After swimming at Hollow Creek one day, she flung Jonathan's pantry open to see if there were any 'nice spiders to eat' and was shocked to see that it was stored with a few items that didn't belong to her.

Jonathan blushed and adverted his eyes when Nady stared from the some-what filled pantry back to him. She said nothing of the matter except that they 'didn't need to make any smushed spider sandwiches today'. Nady never asked where the food came from, but she figured she didn't need to bring anything anymore.

A month passed, and Jonathan's father returned, along with a book filled with the poems from Dante written in Italian(which Jonathan assumed was his apology). Not that his return made any difference; he made his usual disappearances, to visit the other boy. Or at least, that's what Jonathan believed.

But his jealously fueled imaginings of what his father was doing with his favorite son didn't bother him as much. As soon as his father walked out of the door, Nady stepped in.

However,within a few months winter, with its harsh winds and knee deep snow, kept his father around more.

"Why can't I meet him?" Nady had asked when Jonathan said that she would have to knock on his bedroom window instead of the front door.

_Because,_ Jonathan thought, _He'll hate you for your penniless bloodline, the new Downworlders your brother Logan helps adapt to their new life, and not to mention the fact that you're a distraction from my studies_. _He'll hate you without even giving you a glance. _

"He's not very social since my mother died," He said instead, "why do you think we live in the middle of the woods?"

Jonathan grinned, but Nady stared at him, like she did many of times, like his actual thoughts were as audible as the lies he spoke. But as usual she said nothing with all her childlike happiness drained out of her eyes.

She wanted to help him, help him find the four years of childhood he was deprived of. So when the first snowfall came, they made sugar on snow. They had also tried a snowball fight, but the first storm only lasted a day, and by the time Nady scooped up the snow to wail at Jonathan's head, it had already turned to slush.

Nady had promised him when the snow was about knee deep, it would be good enough to sled in. Which was why two weeks before Christmas, he sat on his bed aimlessly flipping through his latest history lesson. Every so often, he would glance out the window to see if Nady would be outside it, waving one of the mittens with zig-zagged pattern of multiple clashing colors her grandmother made for her. But she still hadn't showed up yet.

Jonathan listened intently to his father pacing his study. Jonathan would hear him pick up a book once in a while, leaf through the pages, and then close it with a had never thought to ask his father what he did when he locked himself in the library. Every once in a while he could hear his father pacing across the creaky floor of the study.

Jonathan closed the history book and shifted uneasily on his bed.

It was coming back again. Ever since he started skipping his medication, he had these moments where he felt like something was tearing apart his soul. It was like there was a starving monster living inside him, who was lashing out until Jonathan fed it. One minute he would feel pure frustration, wanting to break or throw anything he could get his hands on, and then he'd succumb into sadness. The worst was the emptiness that lasted longer than the sadness and anger combined. He would count all his minutes of solitude and forget the few hours he spend with Nady. Every peanut butter and M&M sandwich, every adventure in the woods, and every was laugh gone. The darkness remained.

Jonathan clenched his fists together, trying to remember that the feeling was just as bad as the medication. That he didn't need it.

He hoped that when he flushed the whole bottle of pills down the toilet the other day, that the temptation that had been growing inside him for weeks would stop for good. He was wrong, _terribly _wrong.

He grabbed the history book and threw it at the window.

On the other side of the glass, Nady ducked away with wide eyes.

Fortunately, the book had hit the wall, Jonathan didn't want to explain a broken window to his father, let alone the girl on the other side of it.

Jonathan jumped off his bed and ran to the window. He paused for a moment, listening for his father .

_Nothing._

Jonathan slowly opened the window and stuck his head out.

Nady stood a cautious couple of feet away from the window looking like a florescent marsh-mellow in her bright pink snow pants and blue coat.

"I'm guessing this is a bad time," she said nervously tugging the plastic blue toboggan in her hand.

"Actually," Jonathan cautiously opened the window and climbed out, "There couldn't be a better time."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want my coat?" Nady asked for the third time as they stood atop what Nady claimed was the biggest hill in all of Idris. Jonathan did agree that the hill was big,but there could easily be bigger hills.

"I'm fine!" Jonathan insisted through chattering teeth. He had worn his fathers old worn coat. It blocked the wind but it was not good for the overall cold. He had no mittens, or a hat. Fortunately his sleeves came up over his hands and the coat had a hood.

"Whatever," Nady sighed, trying to angle the toboggan to the best position. She frowned, looking down at the snow at the bottom of the hill.

Jonathan looked around them, they were in the middle of the woods, the only other person there was a boy around their age with golden hair. He was holding on to a leather leash that attached him to a falcon. The falcon thrashed around on cord as if trying to break free. Nervously, the boy detached the leash letting the bird soar higher in the sky.

_He's training it,_ Jonathan thought enviously. He wished that his father would get him a falcon.

"There's a pond down there somewhere," Nady said hesitantly, bringing him back from his thoughts, " I forgot where,but I don't think we could sled that far anyways."

"The ice is probably thick enough," Jonathan assured her,putting a hand on her shoulder, "We'll be fine."

Nady turned around and smiled at him. Her hazel eyes gleamed in the sunlight, matching her smile perfectly.

Jonathan felt his face blushing, and he awkwardly removed his hand from her shoulder.

"Well come on then," He said impatiently, "We're waisting time."

Jonathan let Nady sit in the toboggan first as he stood in the back. He began pushing the sled down hill and jumped on.

Nady threw her hands up and screamed excitedly,as they flew over a snowbank. It was a weightless feeling, as if the small amount of angel blood in both of them had made them sprout wings.

She was shocked to hear laughter behind her. The sounded a little scratchy and quiet, as if it hadn't been used in a while, and Nady turned around to Jonathan raising his arms over his head and a smile stretched across his face.

Nady smiled too, but it soon disappeared as the toboggan landed with a 'thud' against the ground. Both Nady and Jonathan flew off the sled a few feet away from each other.

Groaning, they both got up laughing, and brushing the snow off her.

Then they heard the ground under their feet crack . Jonathan and Nady stared at each other wide-eyed. They had finally found where the pond was...and it wasn't thickly iced over.

They both ran back to the top of the hill, abandoning the sled near the forming lines of the cracking ice.

Nady fell to the ground on her back, panting from exhaustion. She stared up at the grey sky and blinked the light falling snowflakes from her eyes.

"Great," she frowned lifting her head up to see the lonely blue toboggan lying on a blanket of white snow, "Now how are we going to slide?"

Jonathan sat down beside her, " Maybe if one of us crawled on our stomachs we could get the sled, and bring it back."

His eyes lit up with more thoughts, " _Or_ we could use sticks and make snowshoes to-"

Jonathan was silenced by a cold, wet, snowball rammed into his cheek.

He turned and went to glare at Nady but she was already getting up to retreat, keeping her head turned towards him to see what he'd do.

Jonathan grabbed as much snow as his bright pink fingers could hold and packed it as hard as he could. As he whipped it at Nady, she slipped and fell on her face.

Jonathan stared wide-eyed at the flying snowball as it hit the falcon boy's equally surprised face.

The boy disgustedly wiped the snow from his angelic face and glared at Jonathan with his gold eyes.

"Sorry," Jonathan gave an uneasy smile, "I was aiming for her."

Nady got up, and brushed the snow off her pants, "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm Nady and this is-"

"No need for introductions," the boy said nonchalantly as he rolled his eyes, " I don't really care who either of you are."

Looking up at the circling falcon,the boy whistled, and held out some stale bread a gloved hand.

The bird seemed uninterested with the boy his offerings.

"Stupid thing!" The boy cried throwing down the bread and picking up a rock a little smaller than his fist.

He hurled it up in the air, narrowly missing the bird.

Jonathan was shocked at the boy's strength, but Nady didn't seem care.

"Stop it!" She pushed the boy to the ground as he looked for another rock.

The boy's golden eyes sharpened.

Nady stepped back in fear as the boy stood up and charged at her.

"Leave her alone!" Jonathan screamed. In a random burst of anger, he jumped in front of the boy, grabbed him by his wrists, and flipped him over into the snow.

Jonathan froze, trying to figure out what had just happened.

He had little time though, because within seconds the boy was coming at him.

All of a sudden,Jonathan felt something take over him, it was as if the monster he was fighting hours before, now controlled him.

Jonathan clenched his fists and smiled wickedly; fighting felt good.

He ran at the boy with raised fists.

This wasn't how normal boys fought. Jonathan, who until now had never met a boy his age knew that. The boy grabbed Jonathan by the arms and swung him into a tree. Jonathan- who hit the tree with a sickening crack- brushed off his bruises, and tackled the boy without any hesitation.

Nady's cries of protest became faint as Jonathan rolled down the hill, dragging the other boy with him.

Jonathan kept kicking, and punching as if it were second nature. The darkness he had fought off for so long seemed to disappear every time Jonathan drew blood.

The boy had put up a good fight, but at the bottom of the hill Jonathan was winning. He pinned the boy to the ground, and raised his fist to strike him.

The boy used the last of his energy to throw Jonathan off of him.

Jonathan landed a few feet away, his body crushing the iced snow. He sat up to fight again, but Nady was already there.

She had her gloved hands around the boys wrists.

"No!" she screamed over, and over again. She let go of one of his wrists and punched him in the face.

The boy winced, but violently threw her aside as if she were just an annoying insect. He stood up, eying Jonathan with the fathomless anger.

There was a loud ear-splitting crack, the sound of Nady crying Jonathan's name.

He looked around to see her a few feet away, standing by the sled. She went to run back to where he was, but the rope of the toboggan coiled around her boot. The ice below Nady gave way, and she disappeared below the surface.

The other boy stood petrified as Jonathan ran across the ice. Before he reached the hole, the ice caved in from underneath his feet.

The icy water absorbed him, the chill made every movement painful. Jonathan fought to keep his eyes open. He soon saw Nady, fighting to swim up to the surface, but with every kick, she seemed to grow weaker.

He quickly swam to her and took off the boot that was still caught on the rope. Jonathan helped her swim up to the surface, feeling his lungs crave for air.

When they surfaced, the other boy lying on his stomach, and holding out a branch to them.

Jonathan helped Nady's trembling glove-less hands hold on to the branch, and watched nervously as the other boy pulled her to safety.

The boy came back and held out the branch to Jonathan as if the brutal fight before had never happened.

Jonathan's shaking hands grabbed onto it and crawled with the other boy to the edge of the hill where Nady sat with her bright pink skin and chattering teeth.

Jonathan ran over to Nady and wrapped his arms protectively around her.

"I-I'm really sorry- I didn't mean to-" The other boy's voice seemed frail,his face was pail, and the arrogance in his eyes was gone. The falcon was now perched of his shoulder, as if curious to see what was happening.

"Just go," Jonathan growled quietly, trying to talk with a frozen tongue.

"I live nearby," The boy went on hesitantly, " You both should stay there at least to get some warmer clo-"

"I said go!" Jonathan screamed, without even looking at the boy.

He heard the boy's reluctant footsteps dying out in the distance.

"You alright?" He held Nady at arms length to see her face.

She looked back at him uncertainly, "What was that?"

Her words asked about the fight, but Jonathan knew what she really wanted to know: 'What _are_ you?'

It was the same question he was asking himself.

He touched his bleeding nose and looked at the dark blood on his finger. It was darker than the other boy's; almost as dark as a demon's.

"I don't know,' he whispered fearfully .


	6. Chapter 6

_I'm back! I greatly apologize for the wait! Thank everyone for their reviews so far, I really appreciate your support :) _

_

* * *

Chapter 6_

The night Jonathan snuck Nady back into his house for a change of clothes, neither of them suspected that his father was watching them as Jonathan opened his bedroom window and hoisted Nady's damp shivering body through.

Valentine watched as Jonathan went to climb into the house, but paused as if the girl was telling him something. His son smiled bashfully and turned as red as the blood crusted on his face.

Valentine took a step back- even as a baby Jonathan never smiled, let alone laughed.

The joy of Jonathan's smile instinctively pulled the corners of Valentine's mouth into a similar expression; his son was _happy_.

_No._ He withdrew from the window. As much as he loved his son, he needed to complete his task. This was the sacrifice that he needed to make, so that all other Shadowhunters could cherish this same moment with their children.

If he played his cards right, Jonathan would become a leader of the new era, an invincible warrior fueled by both Shadowhunter and demon blood. With training he and his angelic counterpart would be ready for the plans Valentine set in motion.

For once Valentine seemed uncertain in his planning, that one smile that Jonathan cast made him realize his ideas weren't as set as he would have liked.

Jonathan liked that girl, and without any intervention would most likely love her after a time.

He had to stop this; he had to fix this one minor flaw.

Valentine looked back out the window, Jonathan had vanished, but Valentine could hear the two children's soft whispers and the creaking of the floorboards.

He looked at the book he had in his hand, he had been looking at the photo album before Jonathan had come home.

The image of his younger self smiled at him, while his arm was wrapped around his beautiful fiancée.

_To love is to destroy._

Valentine shut the book and placed it on his desk. He heard Jonathan laugh, a normal childish laugh.

_She would never forgive him for what he had already did to their child. She wouldn't their son to grow up alone._

This girl wasn't a threat…yet. And he supposed he'd leave it at that for the time being.

* * *

_Four years later..._

Jonathan walked down the dim-lit hallway to his father's study cautiously stepping on the whining floorboards. He carefully turned the doorknob and peered into the empty room.

_Good_, he thought to himself. Jonathan walked over to his father's desk and turned on the lamplight. Placed on the center of the desk was the photo album.

Jonathan flipped through all the old photos and realized there were new ones put in. Ones of his father resting an approving hand on Jonathan's shoulder, ones of Nady with her smiling eyes, ones of him beside the Eiffel Tower, the Sphinx, and Times Square. In eagerness he tried to flip to the next page.

Jonathan grimaced as the paper sliced his finger. A drop of black blood slid off the tip of his finger, and it fell of the album with the hiss. Like acid, his blood burned through the photos, the book, and all the way through the desk.

He jumped back wrapped his other hand around the finger, but the blood kept coming. Jonathan bolted to his room, searching for anything to wrap the cut.

He froze as he saw a figure in the mirror. Where its eyes should be there were two empty holes, and its teeth were all pointed, like two rows of fangs. The monster was pale, and bony, like a lanky gargoyle and worst of all- _it was him._

"Happy Birthday!"

Jonathan woke up to see chocolate cupcake with a flickering candle in his face. He screamed and roughly sat up in his bed, knocking wide-eyed Nady and her cupcake off the bed.

Jonathan panted and dug his nails into his sheets. It was all a dream, not real…at least most of it.

Jonathan thought of the reflection- was that what he really was?

"I take it you don't like surprises," said Nady stood up. She wiped the chocolate frosting off her shirt and licked it off her finger. She handed Jonathan his cupcake,which was still intact, but with less frosting. The candle was now tilted to the side and the bright orange flame was replaced with soft spirals of smoke.

"A nice way to start off your tenth birthday."

Jonathan took the cupcake and stared absentmindedly across the room at his reflection in the mirror, trying to find the monster from the dream.

Nady snapped her fingers in front of his face, "Are ok? You seem...off."

Jonathan shook his head, "Its just-"

He looked at Nady and her frowning eyes. She was the only person he felt he could talk to about most things. But he still kept a wall between Nady and his inner fears. She didn't know who his father really was. She didn't know of his destiny his father vaguely mentioned to him. She didn't know about his nightmares.

Nady's eyes flickered with excitement, as if she could sense the wall starting to shake.

"Nothing. I'm still half asleep."

The light in Nady's eyes died.

Jonathan averted anymore questions, "What are you doing here so early anyways?"

Nady shrugged, playing with a stray thread on his comforter, "What's wrong with spending more time with the Birthday Boy?"

"It wasn't my birthday yesterday," he took a bite of his cupcake, "or the day before that, and yet you still woke me up at sunrise and didn't leave until it got dark."

"What's wrong with that?" She smiled slightly, "Am I boring you?"

Jonathan turned red and looked away from her, "No! Of course not!"

He took another bite of his birthday cupcake. The moist vanilla with rich chocolate frosting easily distracted him from the uneasy interrogation.

"It's just..." He tried to find the right words, " you've been acting...different lately."

She said nothing, but his bed creaked as she shifted uneasily back and forth.

Jonathan looked up to see Nady staring solemnly out the window- she had been doing that a lot lately. For weeks now she was more quiet than usual, and her eyes seemed like there was something she wanted to say, but the words never came.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly, putting the cupcake on his nightstand.

"Nothing," Nady said quietly, "I was just thinking of the fort, we better go and fix it before...before the rain comes."

Jonathan frowned, staring outside at the clear bright sky.

"I didn't hear anything about rain."

She continued to stare out the window, "Well, you heard wrong."

Jonathan watched her gaze aimlessly, whatever she was hiding she'd probably say it soon. Her secret had been eating away at her for two weeks now and each time he asked, she see seemed closer to telling him the truth.

Suddenly, she jumped off the bed, and pulled off his blanket, interrupting his thoughts.

"Come on!" she put on a cheery facade.

"Alright! Alright!" He grumbled as she pulled him out of bed from his arm, "Just let me get dressed."

As Jonathan slammed the window shut, Nady's facade disappeared . She strode solemnly to the edge of the woods with her head down, and picked up the rusty grey tool box she had brought along. The wind danced with strands of her long hair, brushing it off her shoulders.

_Even when she frowns, she looks pretty,_ Jonathan smiled as he watched her out the window.

After a minute Jonathan quickly shut the curtains in as he realized what he had just thought.

Nady was his friend, she was like a _sister!_ Liking her any other way would be just... _weird_.

He pushed the thoughts out of his mind.

Jonathan walked over to his nightstand to finish off his birthday cupcake, and began wonder if he could deal with the constant changes that came with growing up.

* * *

When he went outside to meet her Nady tried to be as chipper again, but Jonathan easily saw through it.

She kept talking about what she wanted to do to the tree fort they had started building a month ago. It was going to take a while to finish- it was hard enough finding supplies, but Nady kept insisting it should be finished sooner.

The fort was in the middle of the woods, halfway between their houses, high up in an oak tree. The floor was finished, as was two of the walls, but they were having trouble finding enough wood to finish the back wall- Nady had been 'borrowing' the supplies from her brother Toby's work shed. Toby hadn't figured out it was her yet, but nevertheless he put a locking rune on the shed. Now Nady had to save up her allowance to buy more planks of wood.

As they approached the fort, was too busy looking at their handiwork to notice a tree root in her way. Within seconds she was face first in dirt, and everything in the toolbox fell everywhere.

She gave a frustrated sigh as she got to her knees and started picking up the mess.

"We're going to have to start working harder, if we want to finish this next week," she shook her head.

Jonathan gave a false laugh, he tugged on the rope to see if it was still sturdy. "What are you so anxious about?" It's not like either of us are going anywhere."

Nady stopped picking things up for a second, it was brief, but enough to catch Jonathan's attention.

"Where are you going?" He asked quietly.

Nady kept her eyes down on the ground, once she had everything back in the toolbox she began picking the grass, "Boston."

Jonathan dug his fingers into the coarse rope ladder,"But you'll be back."

Nady didn't respond.

Jonathan froze and stared at Nady for some kind of answer.

Nady turned her back to him, hiding her face between a dark curtain of chestnut hair.

"Right?" he asked a little bit louder.

"We're moving back to Boston," she mumbled quietly.

She turned around to see if Jonathan had heard her.

His face was stony, and cold which added to the eerie silence between them.

"It's not _my_ fault!" she cried throwing her hands up in the air, "My loony mother was offered head of the institution, and she thinks enough time has passed since what happened to my dad! She says we need the money."

Her eyes began to redden, and a rim of tears began to form under her eyes. She didn't know what else Jonathan wanted her to say- he just stood there staring at her coldly.

"I-I'll be here for one more week. We're moving in next Friday."

A breeze played with Nady's hair, wrapping around her head. Nady pushed away the strands from her face.

Jonathan's expression didn't change.

"What else do you want me to say?!" She threw her hands up in the air.

Jonathan muttered something quietly.

Nady pushed herself off the ground and walked closer to him, "What?"

"_Go away_!" He shouted shoving her to the ground. His eyes were alive with rage.

To him, what she said was worse than the nightmares, the pain of hiding secrets from her, or the changes that time would bring- because anything is easier to face when you don't feel _alone._


	7. Chapter 7

**_Hey I just wanted to appologize for how long it took to update! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!- Soop_**

* * *

Jonathan refused to see Nady for days after. She had showed up the night after the fight, pelting Jonathan's window with pebbles, but he just threw his black comforter over his head and feigned sleep. She had finally left a half hour later, after she had shouted his name so loudly, that Valentine's light turned on.

Jonathan was tempted to go see her before she left, but he dismissed the idea out of stubbornness and fear. He didn't want to say goodbye. This was a feeling he had a hard time even admitting to himself. He had tried to hate her, trying to think of all the things she did that annoyed him. He did think of quite a few, but they still were outweighed by all the times she made him smile.

This was why the night before she was going to move, Jonathan found it hard to ignore the soft pinging noise as a pebble hit his window. And then another. And another.

After five minutes of trying to feign deafness to the repetitive sound, Jonathan threw off his covers and stormed over to the window.

On the side of the glass stood Nadie waving and smiling shyly.

Against his own wishes, he smiled back and nodded.

She motioned for him to open the window, and when he did, she vanished.

Out of complete shock, Jonathan climbed through the window and whipped his head wildly around to find her.

Jonathan jumped, startled by the loud sound of his window being slammed shut.

He tried his hardest to pry the window open, but stayed closed.

A sudden cold swept over him that made him completely forget about Nadie's disappearance, and made him want more than anything to open the window. Some instinct told him that someone was watching him. He felt like a hunted animal.

Hesitantly, Jonathan turned around to face the dark woods.

"Who's there?" He asked, unable to keep the panic out of his voice.

There was a rustle in the bush a couple feet away from him and then he heard a a dark, low growl, sounding like no animal he had heard before.

Before the creature had time to emerge from the bush, Jonathan bolted into the woods. He could hear the creature's quick footsteps as they pounded the ground closely behind him. A strong bony hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the ground making him fall on his back.

His eyes unwillingly stared at the creature. A skeleton with yellow tinted skin,large black glossed over eyes, and blond curly hair.

"You really think you can out-run yourself?" The demon smirked. It drew each word out slowly, speaking in a low menacing hiss, "You are nothing without me, _nothing_."

Jonathan began to scream high and shrill enough to hurt his own ears. The demon and the dark woods disappeared and he opened his eyes to see that it was all a dream.

He sat on the floor, his feet tangled with his blankets. The first few rays of dawn crept through his window and he could hear a gentle breeze rustle the leaves of the trees softly.

It was all just a dream...but then he heard the spine shivering scream that had woken him up...the one he thought came from himself.

Jonanthan ran towards his closed bedroom door, and pressed his ear against it. The haunting cry was pleading, desperate.

Slowly he opened the door and walked out onto the creaking hallway floorboards. The house was quiet, his father said he'd be home around morning, but Jonathan hadn't seen any signs of him yet.

As he walked down the hall, he could hear the cries getting louder and louder all the way to his father's room.

Jonathan hesitated as he gently laid his hand on the cool brass doorknob. He had never gone into his father's room, out of respect and fear of the consequences. He pressed his ear against the smooth wooden door. The scream had stopped, but he could hear the creature sobbing.

Jonathan slowly opened the door, quickly peering into the room. It was dark and seemed to be empty. But his imagination twisted every shadow into the figure of his father, or an image of what monster was making the horrid noises. The squeaking of the floorboards beneath him made his fear worse. What if his father heard him?

Jonathan gasped as his foot couldn't find floor to step on. He stepped back and adjusted his eyes to the darkness. He had almost stepped through a trap door.

The crying stopped, but Jonathan had an idea of where it was coming from.

Slowly he crept through the trapdoor and climbed a ladder down to the basement he never knew they had.

The ladder was worn and whined with each step he took, but it still held Jonathan as he slowly made his way down. The basement was dark, it wasn't until he felt the cold dirt under his bare feet that Jonathan knew he was at the bottom. He tried to listen for the cries again, but he heard nothing, just silence.

He saw a sliver of light a few feet away from him. He moved closer and noticed it was coming from a half closed door. Before Jonathan even opened it, a sickly strong smell greeted him. A concoction of bile, blood, and death oozed out of the opening. Jonathan slowly pushed the door open to a room that was half the size of the house. There were no walls, only shelves of books, and cages filled with creatures. Demons and Downworlders, all cramped and crowded in cages of different sizes.

Jonathan could recognise some of them. A Ravener Demon penned in a cage a little too small for it, a corpse of a werewolf with shackles made of silver, an unconscious bound vampire that flinched as a tiny drop of holy water dropped on his forehead from a contraption above him every few seconds and seared his flesh.

All of the creatures stared back at him, either with hatred or tried to keep his eyes on the floor, but the shock kept his head up with every shriek or hiss of a captive. He didn't like the creatures, but the torture was too sickening even for him.

In the only space that wasn't invaded with books or demons was a battered desk. Jonathan slowly inched closer to the desk, transfixed by the little white boxes piled neatly in one of its corners. The same boxes that his medication came in.

He still hadn't taken it in weeks, but just seeing them made his stomach clench and his hands shake.

Right when Jonathan stood in front of the desk, he noticed a book opened to the present date scrawled in his father's clear print.

_Johnathan Christopher has not shown any increase in his power, even after increasing the demon blood dosage to 40mg. _

Demon blood? Jonathan flipped through the past pages written by the father he thought never noticed him.

_Jonathan has not exhibited any remarkable feats in months. I will change the type of demon blood he takes in tiny capsules. Perhaps a shape-shifter demon, or something more aggressive..._

_...I told Jonathan Christopher I was leaving for another week, the jealousy of the 'other son' made him punch seven holes in various walls throughout the house. The blow was so strong, at times there were holes punched through the walls into the next room. His knuckles aren't even bruised..._

_...Jonathan Christopher went out hunting today. He can run at remarkable speed, and was able to out run all of his prey: squirrels, a deer, and rabbits..._

_...When his adrenaline increases, sometimes Jonathan Christopher's eyes turn completely black. Just like a demons._

Jonathan threw the book on the floor so fast that it slid across the room and hit the opposite wall with a loud thud.

The creatures backed farther into their cages. The shadows of the room was filled with hisses and whimpers.

The familiar wail that had drawn Jonathan to the nightmarish room began to come from a cage next to the desk.

At first Jonathan was too afraid to look, his neck stiffened and his eyes squeezed shut. He begged the Angel that it was all just a dream.

He finally got courage to open his eyes. Jonathan hesitantly looked over to the cage. _It wasn't a dream._

The demon looked like a human toddler, except for it's leathery tail and yellow tinted skin. It had obviously put up a fight, the thick metal bars were crushed and bent at weird angles. The only thing keeping it in was the runes circling the prison. A tube was attached to the demon's arm and its tar black blood was being funneled into a jar. But Jonathan barely noticed that. His gazed frozen on the creature's large glassed over black eyes. The same ones from his dream. The same ones that belonged to the monster who chased Jonathan almost every night for the past couple months.

Whatever it was, it was alive, but not for long. The eyes bored into Jonathan's begging for a merciful death.

Jonathan didn't know what to do, he didn't know what side he was on, he didn't even know what he was anymore.

In his mind Jonathan was screaming, begging his feet to run and find some place safe. But where could he go? His home rested over a hidden hell he never knew about, and Nadie was no longer his friend.

His feet moved slowly backwards to the door, his eyes still entranced by the empty black ones. He reached for the doorknob and felt a warm hand on the cold brass.

Jonathan quickly spun around, and nearly into his father. He was covered in scarlet blood, but didn't seem to be weak or in pain.

His father was neither surprised nor angry. His expression and voice was soft, and calming. "Jonathan."

His hand gently reached for Jonathan's shoulder.

The resentment for his father treating him more like an experiment more than a son silenced his fear of figuring out what he really was. Before he even realized what he was doing he grabbed his father's outstretched hand and threw him to the ground.

His father hit the floor with a sickening thud and a groan, but Jonathan's mind was preoccupied with more important matters.

He began to run, out of the house and into the woods. Not knowing where to go, or why he was running. Like the nightmare said, _he could never outrun himself_.

* * *

After couple hours of wandering through the woods, Jonathan found himself standing behind the trees that bordered Nadie's house. It wasn't dark out anymore, the sun had come up a few hours before.

He quickly hid behind from view as he heard two men approaching.

"What did your sister do, pack an elephant in here?" Groaned one man.

Jonathan peered out from behind the tree and saw a large balding man carrying a box and a taller dark haired man-Nadie's brother Logan-who was carring what seemed to be a lighter box.

Logan laughed, "I wouldn't be surprised, she's got the Murphy stubbornness."

The older man chuckled, "Not as feisty as she used to be though," he grunted as he and Logan put their boxes down in a pile of packaged things. "She seems like she's quieted down."

"Well, not really," Logan sat on the 'elephant' box, and wiped his forehead with his t-shirt, " she's really upset about the move. She hasn't been saying much lately. I don't think she remembers Boston too well, she considers this house as her real home."

The other man an uneasy smile, "She'll adjust, she'll be with her cousins. It'll just take her some time."

Logan looked over to the house, where Nadie, undoubtedly, was sulking, "Let's hope so."

Nadie's mother appeared at the door. She was short, with messy greying hair tied up in a bun. She gave a scolding look to Logan and his uncle and waved her hand impatiently back to the house.

Both men did nodded vigorously and began to look busy until Nadie's mom disappeared back into the house.

"She seems more eager than ever to move," Logan chuckled.

"Well if you heard what happened in the Wayland Manor, you'd be packing faster too." Logan's uncle gently pushed him towards the house.

Logan shot him a quizzical look.

"Just last night Michael Wayland was killed in front of his own son. Blood all over the place. Poor kid's an orphan now."

"What?" Logan's face turned a sickly pale, "why?"

His uncle shrugged and kept walking towards the house, "Well, he was part of the Clave. I'm guessing he made _someone_ unhappy."

They began to walk towards the house.

He began planning how to reach Nadie without anyone else noticing him. No doubt she was in her room, which was on the opposite side of the house facing him, not to mention on the second floor.

Once again he had to remind himself he felt nothing for her. They_ were_ friends. She abandoned him. He could go on without her, he had done it before he met her...why not now?

Minutes later, Logan and his uncle were back, along with Nadie's other brother Toby who had his hands shoved in his pockets and wore his usual moody face.

Nadie's brothers stood around the boxes in silence while their uncle pulled out a seraph blade.

"Typical," the old man chuckled, " the one who screams her head off for us to get moving is late."

Toby snickered, while Logan laughed.

"I think she's getting Nadie." Logan added in fairness.

Sure enough there was their mother, who had her hand wrapped around Nadie's wrist, and was gently tugging her out the door.

Nadie pulled back wearing her determined look. As she shook her head 'no', the sun reflected the two glimmering water marks that streaked under her eyes and across her cheeks.

At first her mom looked angry, but after a moment of useless tugging, she got to her knees and wrapped her arms gently around her daughter. She then carefully picked her daughter up and carried her over to the three men and the pile of their belongings.

Nadie's uncle drew a circle in the dirt around the family and their belongings and then drew a rune unfamiliar to Jonathan. The circle glowed a bright blue. Nadie's family looked one last time at their old home while Nadie looked solemnly into the woods where Jonathan was.

This was it. She was leaving for good.

"Nadie!" Jonathan jumped out of his hiding place.

Nadie spotted Jonathan instantly. Her hazel eyes widened, and her mouth began to curve into a smile and then...she was gone. The bright blue light that had radiated around her and her family swallowed them up, leaving only the dirt drawn circle behind.

Not knowing what to do he began to race to her house, hoping that there was something _anything_ left to remind him of her.

The door was locked.

Jonathan headed to the woods, the only place that was theirs. The only place where there were memories of him and Nadie;not her family, not his father, not demons.

It didn't take too long for him to find the tree house.

Jonathan had finally finished the final wall, but didn't have time for the roof. He had undone the locking rune Toby had put on his shed and had taken enough wood to finish the tree house hoping Nadie would get blamed.

He realized as he climbed the wobbling ladder that going to the fort wasn't really a good idea. He could still see himself, throwing a bucket of nails at her, and telling her to go away.

When he finally got to the top, Jonathan pressed his face against his knees and began to cry. He tried to stop, but he couldn't. This was all too much. This _had _to be a dream, how else could all this be possible?

"Wake up," he began to murmur to him self, digging his fingernails into his legs, "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

The last 'wake up' echoed through the forest, scaring all the nearby squirrels and birds.

The emptyness Jonathan used to fight was now bigger than ever. The intense longing for the demon blood he used to take daily became unbearable.

"Jonathan,come," said a soft, comforting voice. His father.

He rested a gentle hand on Jonathan's shoulder.

Jonathan looked up at his father, cleaned from the blood he was covered in before. He only person Jonathan had left.

He had so many things he wanted to say to him, but he was too choked up in fear and anger that only one could escape his mouth.

"I'm a monster."

"No," his father tilted Jonathan's head up so they were looking eachother in the eyes.

Jonathan blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't imagining the pride radiating from his father's face.


End file.
